Page 173 of Unrivaled
It was an ambitious rumor.I doubted Chay would’ve started it.
I’d heard whispers his horses had been readied, that he’d gone to the stables rather than the ball tonight.
It wouldn’t surprise me to learn that, at least, was true.
The man whose arms I was in smiled at me.“Good rope in a city is like beautiful flowers on a beautiful woman,” he suggested, reminding me that he was the nephew of a merchant with a large shipment of rope that hadn’t been sold yet.
“Merely trappings that distract from what’s truly important?”I asked.
He laughed as if I’d told the best jest he’d heard in weeks.
Some of them saw me, but most saw a steppingstone, an accessory, a wax seal or the key to all the locks in the keep.I was getting tired of it.
“Fantastic dress, niece,” Fiona said with a big smile as she swept past in the arms of a man not married to her.Her husband had lived after Mikus’ attack the previous tourney, and could walk, but he’d never been a dancer.
“Audrey—don’t look, butVenissimiris flirting horrendously with poor Elsie!”The information was dumped in my ear by a woman whose name, shield, and familial ties all skimmed through my mind like information on flipping pages even as I sighed and shook my head.Giving her the expected response was easier, especially as the speaker hurried on past with a giggle, the group of women she was with looking at me in anticipation of my reaction.
The night before, Luca had made the ball pass by in a blur.I resented that, by comparison, every moment tonight seemed to drag.I didn’t dare lean on Kadan and his friends, circulating instead to as many pockets of the room as I could.
I was in the middle of the floor when I saw people glancing over toward one of the doors.There was something about their mannerisms that made me recall the way they used to look toward my father.Dread kicked me in the belly so hard I missed a step.My partner fumbled, but I didn’t care.In the middle of a crowded dance floor, I felt myself lift from my own body and look down on myself.
If I was pretending to be a kraken, I was surrounded by very real sharks.
Therealkraken was coming.I could feel his reach, the spread of his power returning, like the bite of winter wind or ink spreading across parchment.
Not tonight, though.Tonight, when I followed the gazes of the people around me, it wasn’t my father’s figure that drew my attention.In fact, the man couldn’t have been more different.
It was Chay standing and letting them all look at him as he assessed the lay of the land.Chay, Darrius on one side, face clean shaven and boots polished, in his plain black tabard and wearing weapons no others were permitted.They looked from he to me, then back.
I’d heard the whispers about us.Little did they know we’d been there, done that, and opted for a different path forward.
He’d saved me from having to choose whether I ought to name him, today.After last year, it was a mercy I was grateful for.
He’d wanted to be his own champion.
He’d been doomed to a life of championing me.
“You look so serious,” said the man whose hand sat too tightly on my hip and who kept trying to bring us closer.
“I can’t imagine why.Running a city during wartime, re-doing all the old trade agreements and hosting festivals to invigorate the economy is such a light-spirited endeavor, sir, don’t you think?”I stepped out of his too-tight grasp, putting my hand on another man’s shoulder to forestall the objections, then moving on from him with a smile.
They still weren’t taking me seriously.
I saw, on the flanks of the room, Kadan’s men gathering.I knew if I got caught up one of them would appear and ask me to dance.I’d end up far away from whomever irritated me and, truly, in better company.
I didn’t like it.
“I think I need floppy boots,” I told Chay, making it to his side.
Chay didn’t blink.“Riding, or walking?”
And that was why we got along well.I sighed and took Darrius’ arm.“How have you recovered?”I asked Chay.If I had my father’s imminent arrival in the back of my thoughts, who could blame me?
“I’ve had more strenuous days in the last moon than today,” he said, with a shrug.
Darrius nudged him, his eyes full of mirth.“You think it, lad, you don’t say it.”From where I lingered, just a little above myself, I watched as Darrius reached over and changed the angle of one of the flowers woven into my hair.“Gorgeous work.Your tailors are fantastic, and your florists will be weeping with joy after tomorrow’s ball.I’ve heard many plans to replicate this hair.”
That had been my hope.I’d used dried flowers specifically so theycouldbe replicated.“I can’t wait to see how others do it,” I agreed, selecting a nonalcoholic drink offered to me by a servant.They knew what I liked, and I was grateful they always had something that would help my head remain as clear as it could.
